Scalliwag
by JunebugPancakes
Summary: Poggle, the world-famous adventurer known for saving Neopia from Doctor Sloth's dictating reign (a previous story I wrote not posted yet), is setting sail with his friends to the infamous Lutari Island for the second time in his life since he was a cub. He's not sure what he's looking for or what he'll find, but he can already tell the trip there and back will be a long one.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Come away come away with the traveling show  
Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy oh!  
We'll raggle-taggle here we'll raggle-taggle there,  
Raggle up and down taggle everywhere._

White-crested waves crashed against ships at the docks of Krawk Island. 80 miles south of Mystery Island, Poggle loitered joyously at the pub down in the Warf Wharf where they were toasting to the newest proposal of a sea-bound adventure by Neopia's most renowned explorer and treasure hunter—him! The dark, warped, hardwood tables were crowded with dirty plates and both filled and empty steins of grog and quartermaster's brew. Hogshead barrels of grog were poorly taken care of and were left half open and dripping onto the bars and floors which, while it made a mess, filled the room with the sweet and bitter scent of krakuberry grog. Fiddle music played by the pirate-painted aisha girls graced the atmosphere with its upbeat tune. They danced merrily, swinging their layered, ruffled dresses and tapping their charcoal black boots on the stage. Most of the crowd, both men and women, sang along with them and swayed, waving their steins around and toasting to the occasion. Even the utmost scruffy and unkempt pirate Neopians were aroused by the event and filled every table, sofa, and bar stool in the house and cheered.

Poggle and his three friends; Grouute, Leeanne, and Enviouus sat at the most crowded table way in the back where they were accompanied by Gooblah the grarrl himself as well as Lucky McKyriggan, Admiral Blackbeard, and, of course, Buck Cutlass. Lucky enough it was the largest table in the house, so everyone managed to just barely fit in. Poggle sat next to the captain with Grouute on his opposite side and everyone else was scattered through the table. Smiles and grins all around, they discussed the adventure that was to be taking place in a few mere minutes.

"Aye, Poggle, yer a madman—goin' to Lutari Island again," Buck said to the kougra.

"No man's ever been to Lutari Island since the storm hit—let alone twice—and come back to tell the tale," Blackbeard added, "Lightening strikes, whirlpools, and water spouts ain't a joke, son!"

"Leave the lad alone, a brave one like him knows what 'e's doin'. And let's not forget he's the son of Victor. If ye asked me, I'd say with 'im, we're guaranteed all the booty we uncover,"

McKyriggan defended.

"Aw, please, I was only a cub when dad took me to the island. The plague had just started, so it wasn't all that bad for him. I barely even remember being there, I was five then."

"A trip like that fer a grown man like yer father was brave as it is, but to take his son and then have his son grow to be his legacy and _return_ to the island to further explore is the definition of brave if I ever seen," Blackbeard praised.

"Foolish, if you ask me, but then again, I'm not complaining. Neopia would have ended in fire had it not have been for Pogs taking over his dad's job and without getting into it so young, that may not have happened," Enviouus offered.

"Right, when Sloth took over. Man, I'd rather not think of that again," Grouute said with a shutter. He chuckled and elbowed Poggle in the side who responded with a laugh as well.

"It was nothin'," he said plainly with a shurg. A sudden, booming, boisterous laugh erupted from Gooblah as he slammed his stein of kraukuberry grog down on the table, causing some of it to splash out, and stood up from his spot. Everyone in the pub turned to that table with jolly, yet curious expressions to see the ruckus.

"Nothin' you say?" the grarrl bursted, "Aye, this lad says that takin' down the Doctor's reign was nothin'!" He held his arms open and sneered at the rest of the crowd, speaking with a rough voice. "Whaddya gotta say t'that, ey?" The crowed booed and laughed out loud, elbowing each other and pounding on the tables. "Yeeaah! This here's a rough and tough lad. Seventeen an' takin 'out anarchy which even the kings and the fairies couldn't handle before 'im." The crowd cheered and applauded again, giving another toast. The grarrl tromped over to the front doors of the pub and many of the crowd's eyes followed him while others were still celebrating with swigs of grog. Poggle sat, facing him, with one arm on the table and a smile on his face. Gooblah stood with his hands on his hips and a proud expression. He waved his hand and motioned for Poggle to come over to him, which the kougra then did. Walking up beside him on all fours, when he got next to him, he stood up on his hind legs and met the grarrl face-to-face. Gooblah slapped his hand down on Poggle's back and gave a chuckle. "Ye'll do fine, son." He turned to the crowd and announced, "A toast!" Everyone raised their steins and listened up. "To the great hero! May he guide us to gold, adventure, and glory."

_"Here here!"_ everyone raved, knocking their steins together and drowning themselves messily once more in grog, Gooblah included. Poggle shrugged it off and thanked everyone for their kindness. The music became more thrilling and some of the mates began to stand up and dance along to it. Gooblah and Poggle stood and watched everyone celebrate with satisfied looks on their faces. Soon, they would all be off.

The door opened behind them and they turned to see who had entered through the door. Peg Leg Percival hobbled in, tipped his hat to the hero, and said to them, "The ships are ready to set sail whenever you're ready, sirs, Captain Crossblades has given us the okay." Gooblah nodded to him and thanked him before sending him back out to the ships.

"Crew," Gooblah began. Everyone turned to him and quieted down. The music came to a stop and everyone looked as if they knew what he was about to say with their eager smirks and grins. "Our ships have been given the go-ahead. Is everyone ready?"

_"Aye-aye!"_ the crowd said in sync.

"I asked if you were ready!" Gooblah thundered. "Let me hear it!"

_"AYE-AYE!"_ they all shouted louder, rising from their seats and herding to the front of the pub. Gooblah patted Poggle on the back roughly again and tilted his head at the door, motioning for him to lead them out. Poggle looked back at everyone—they were standing before him proudly, ready to follow his command, all wearing smug faces and holding their cutlasses by their side. Poggle couldn't hide the growing smile on his face. He got back down to all fours, having been standing long enough, and stood proudly as they were, bracing his legs in an outward manner.

"To the ships, mates!" he exclaimed all too enthusiastically, a tone of laughter to his voice. The crew raised their swords and shouted, following him quickly out the door.

Poggle slowed his pace as he got to the boarding area of the ship. He saw ol' Peg Leg Percival again and nodded to him respectively. He was there to ensure everyone boarded safely and there were no stowaways or imposters. Everyone greeted him nicely as they climbed aboard and soon as Gooblah got on, Peg Leg Percival followed him and pushed off the board with his good leg.

"Wow! Can you believe it? We're on a real pirate ship!" Grouute gushed, flying up high to check out the area. He made a circle around and landed again beside his friends. "This way awesome!"

"I hate to agree," Enviouus added, "But this is pretty cool, huh?" she said with a grin on her face, allowing her to appear less apathetic for once.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Leeanne proposed, "I know we all just got here and it'd be cool to stick together, but we're gonna be spending weeks with eachother, so while we're all excited, why not explore the ship independently?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Grouute agreed, looking over at Poggle.

"I'm okay with that," Enviouus said as well.

"Alright, let's do it!" Poggle nodded. Everyone went their separate ways. Grouute took off upward to the crow's nest, Enviouus found fascination in the cannons, and Leeanne was having fun at the bow, looking out over the crystal waters.

Poggle was feeling a lot of excitement. He walked up to the captain's area where the wheel was and saw that Captain Crossblades would be taking control for their journey.

"Captain," he began, sitting down where he stopped, "It's nice to meet you, I'm—"

"Aye, there be not a soul in all of Neopia who don't know yer name, ye fool," Crossblades, who had been staring out at the bay over the rear of the ship, turned to him, his flippers behind his back in a poised manner. He wore a smirk on his face. Poggle felt a bit humble in his presence and averted his eyes from the captain's, picking his paw up slightly off the ground and turning his ears back. He was after all, despite his size, an esteemed captain for miles around. Perhaps not as well-known as Poggle himself was, but still famous for his sailing skills. Even Poggle could feel shy in his presence.

"Heh-heh, yeah, I guess so." He straightened out his pose and looked up to him again with a smile. "So are do you think we can make it safely to Lutari Island?"

"Yer askin' a lot of me, that's fer sure, but aye, I'm the best captain around. Even if I may not can gobble down a lot in the food club," Crossblades replied.

"Great!" Poggle said, standing up again. His tail was happily in the air. "If you need me for anything, I'll be taking a look around, so it might be a bit before I'll have a steady location." He turned back to the stairs down. "But I'll be around."

"Aye."

Poggle left him to his own and went off to assess himself with his new environment for the next few weeks. He wasn't exactly keen on how the wood felt beneath his paws as he worried he might get a splinter or even be so unfortunate to come across a mis-driven nail. Pirate life, he thought.

His shipmates worked around him—raising sails, securing masts, transporting luggage—whatever Gooblah told them to do, really. Poggle was going to head down to the crew's quarters, figuring he'd get to know where he was going to be staying for weeks to come, but Buck Cutlass stopped him, just as he took a step heading down.

"Hold on, there, lad. Down there's were we sleep and eat and all. I've been given orders to direct ye t'yer room, elsewhere."

"I won't be staying down there with everyone else?"

"Not according t'what I been told. Follow me to yer quarters." Buck headed back to the rear of the ship and Poggle stayed close behind. His friends caught sight of him as they made their way through everyone and decided to see what was going on.

"Were're we headed?" Grouute asked.

"I'm not quite sure myself. Apparently I get a room to myself." They were led into a room that seemed to glisten in every aspect of the word. The curtains were silk red to match the rug in the center of the room. Four single beds sat in each corner of the room with a round hardwood table, polished to shine, sat in the center with four chairs around it. A window out was on the back wall and caught a nice view of the ocean from the table. Nightstands at the side of each bed, adorned with lamps made of (presumably false) gold and red, cubical shades.

"Not as fancy as the captain's quarters, but I think the lot of ye can handle this room, right?" Buck asked with a sigh as he leaned against the door frame, arms crossed.

"Wow! I think this is the best room ever!" Leeanne marveled.

"It's definitely better than my hut back at home! I could live here forever!" Poggle concured.

"No kidding, dude!" Grouute also agreed, going over and jumping onto his bed. "I love my gold pile back at home, but this is so much softer than sleeping on Neopoints and toys and such!" Buck laughed at their excitement.

"I know our quarters won't be as fancy, but the mess is below deck. You'll be dinin' with everyone down there, or ye can get it there an' come back up here. No one really cares, yer 'llowed t'do what ye want so long as it don't get ye in trouble." Enviouus looked over at Buck, a bit displeased.

"Note taken," she said finally.

"If ye need anythin', I'm the first guy ye go to, got it? F'I'm not around, then Gooblah is your next mate, but leave the captain alone unless he summons you lot for a reason, got it?" The quartet agreed and Buck was off, leaving them to their own business. Moments later, Lucky McKyriggan stopped by their room with a big grin on his face.

"Ahoy!" he greeted.

"Ahoy!" the group shouted back with a chuckle.

"I see you all found yer room! How d'ya like it?" he laughed.

"Don't think we could've asked for a better room," Poggle replied.

"Great! Glad t'hear ye'll like where ye'll be stayin'." He stepped in the room. "Listen, I jus' wanna tell ya that Buck is full of himself. If ya need anythin' from the captain, he's already said, he welcomes ye to 'is room. Also, that tar fergot to mention that, while I might be the lowest of the higher-ups, I can influence at least the crew if no one else, plus I got fightin' in me bones, so if yer in trouble. I got ye covered."

"Aye-aye," Enviouus said ironically.

"Arr, enjoy yer trip," he finished and he was off before anyone could say anything else. Grouute sat himself at the table and kicked his feet up, crossing his arms behind his head.

"My pleasure," he laughed. The girls laughed with him and layed back on their beds.

"Please, I think I'll just stick to my books," the green ixi said, pulling one of her novels out from her bag and placing it in front of herself.

"Killjoy," Grouute remarked. As usual, those two began to bicker while Leeanne was left to roll her eyes and Poggle just felt again how much he loved his friends. He got off his own bed to the left of the door and headed out.

"I'll be back later, but I'm gonna go look around some more, okay?" No one heard him. He shook his head and left anyway, going back up the stairs and out onto the main deck. His shipmates were lighting up the ship and making their final preparations. He sat down smack in the middle of everything and watched everyone move hastily around and finally heard Gooblah call out to the crew after what Poggle thought would be getting orders from Crossblades.

"Avast, ye mates! We set sail for Lutari Island! Let me hear ye best pirate yell!" All of the crew shouted and the boat began to turn outwards to sea. Conveniently, the wind picked up and caught the sail, sending them off very cleanly without trouble. One of the Poogle mates came up to Poggle and nudged him with his paw. Poggle looked at him.

"Aye, yer mates better not get in any of our ways. You may be our special guest, but they might as well 'ave stayed landlubbers." Poggle furrowed his brow at him and as the Poogle walked off, he hit him in the face with his tail. Poggle shook his head and thought about what he just said. Strange that nothing had even happened yet, they were barely out to sea and already he was supposed to be watching out for some of the crew. He brushed it off and got up, heading over to the bow where Gooblah was standing. They said nothing to each other, but acknowledged the other's presence. The orange kougra stood up and put his paws onto the railing of the ship, watching it sail away from the island and out to see. He looked down at his paws and dug his claws slightly into the wood beneath them. Taking a deep breath of sea air, he mumbled to himself,

"This is going to be a long trip."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_From the North from the South from the East from the West, _  
_Well the sky is our roof and the road is our rest._  
_No one to say 'yes', no one to say 'no'._  
_Run free with the raggle-taggle gypsy oh!_

When morning came the next day, Poggle had to force his eyes open in order to fully wake up. The gentle rocking of the boat was nice (he did always have sea legs since he was often taken out to sea as a cub), but all of the chatting on deck from the first night's pass had been very hard on him and it wasn't until about midnight that everyone dispersed and they finally allowed him rest. He shifted in his bed and propped himself up on his elbow, rubbing the dust from his eyes. The glare of the bright morning sun on the polished hardwood table in the center of the room was near blinding; Poggle shielded his eyes with his paw over his face and turned his head. His mind was still rendered blank from the sleep, but he wondered just about how late he'd been sleeping.

Pushing the covers off of himself, he climbed out of bed and down on all fours. His claws dug into the hardwood below them and his back dipped as he stretched out the nighttime stiffness. He shook his body gently and rubbed his face again, then finally looked around the room—it was much different from home, he noted, and he very much took comfort in that. The last thing he ever wanted was to feel stuck in one place. His golden eyes scanned each of the beds. Only one other was empty—Grouute's bed. Otherwise, the two girls were still wrapped up tight in their blankets and snoozing peacefully.

The fairly distant sound of dishes clinking together caught the kougra's sensitive hearing. _Breakfast time_. He knew Grouute would be there, that dragon had the appetite appropriate for his species. Poggle decided it'd be nice to join him; the first morning after embarking on a journey was usually the most exciting and refreshing. Spending it with friends, especially was the best. He pushed down the knob and pulled open the door, shutting it behind him with his back foot. He walked on down the short hall and followed the stairs up and out to the main deck.

The sky was shining bright blue and clear of any clouds. The cool morning sea breeze ruffled through the kougra's fur and he took a deep, restoring breath of it's salty sweetness. He stretched out his haunches as he went up to the bow and gazed out over the glistering waters. It was a beautiful morning, the kind that filled his blood with ambition for adventure and appreciation for the world he'd fought to save. He paced back and forth on the deck, looking in all directions—no land anywhere in sight. Up at the crow's nest, the lookout korbat was laid back against the mast and sleeping soundly. Poggle was technically alone out there and he took the advantage to gather the excitement of a new trip and keep it in his chest, he felt it building up there and a huge grin spread over his face whilst admiring the view.

But, he remembered at the sound of dishes clinking together again, Grouute was down in the mess and probably guzzling up all of the breakfast as fast as it's being dished out. Poggle shook his head and chuckled to himself as he headed down the hatch to join him. Sure enough, that's where he was and that's what he was doing.

The kougra took a seat across from him at one of the tables. Grouute greeted him with a 'good morning' and they'd exchanged pleasantries. As they ate their breakfast, fueling for the day, the room began to fill with groggy sailors just waking up. It wasn't too early, but also not too late. Poggle assumed it was around nine-thirty in the morning at that point. Forming a line, one by one, they came up to get their food and then dragged themselves over to a spot to sit in and make conversation with the others.

There was one blue Zafara in particular that passed by where Poggle and Grouute were at the end of their table and he stopped, staring down at Grouute. The pair looked up at him curiously.

"Um," Poggle began, "is there something you need?" The Zafara put a hand on Grouute's shoulder and felt it.

"Woah, yer a big guy. You must be weighin' down the ship!"

"Uh, thanks, bro," Grouute replied awkwardly.

"Just 'ow much can you lift? Ya look like you could pump hundreds o' pounds."

"Well, I—"

"We could use a guy like you on the ship! Say, why don't ya come sit wit' me an' the guys. There's a couple'a ways around the ship we could use yer help if yer interested."

"Sure! That'll be awesome!" He said, excited about making friends. He looked toward Poggle. "If that's okay with you, buddy." The kougra nodded and Grouute got up and went along with the shipmate. It was somewhat odd, the way he'd been looking at him in the first place. The kougra watched them as they went over to another table and just as soon as they set down, it caught his eye that it happened to be the table that the same Poogle from the night before was sitting at. Poggle thought about getting up and going to tell his friend what had happened and that he didn't think it was a good idea to hang out with those guys, but he shook it off and figured he was just imagining things. Most pets of the pirate variety were at least a little unsavory, it was probably nothing to get super concerned over.

After finishing his plate, he went back out to the main deck and looked around. There were a few sailors out and about, taking care of miscellaneous things that Poggle, himself, didn't quite understand, never being on an actual _ship_. It was all so exciting to him! He headed toward a group of sailors when he was suddenly intercepted by a very chipper Lucky McKyriggan. He ran up to him and put a paw on his shoulder, then began speaking to him in a very incoherent voice. Poggle picked a paw up off the ground and furrowed his brow trying to understand him. He was badly winded and taking deep gasping breaths in between each few words he said.

"Breathe!" Poggle said, standing up his his hind legs and putting his paws on the kyrii's shoulders. Lucky pushed him off and laughed.

"Ah, ah'm getting' too old fer this pirate business," he groaned as he took a few deep breathes and finally was able to speak clearly. "The cap'in wants t'see ya. 'e says somethin' about yer plan of action."

"Oh, alright. Where is he? Up at the stern?"

"Nah, lad, 'e's in 'is quarters. Down the hall and on the opposite side from yer room."

"Okay, thanks." Poggle nodded and headed back down the way to the captain's room.

"Make sure ya knock! It's respect!" Poggle flipped his tail as a response that he heard him and went down the steps back into the hallway.

The red carpet lining the hall down the hall was lush and was possibly the most luxurious part of the entire ship, or at least he thought so at the moment. He'd yet to see the captain's room and he figured that would be even more extravagant since Crossblades was of higher status.

When he reached the door, Poggle knocked and announced himself like Lucky had said and the captain called back to him, allowing him entry. The kougra stepped inside and shut the door behind him. Crossblades was sitting at the round table that was placed right under the window for a view when dining.

"Poggle, I see Lucky got word t'ye quickly. Come sit down 'ere, lad." Poggle nodded and headed over to the table, looking around the room as he crossed it. It certainly was lavish. The walls were polished to a finish with fine darkwood and even wallpaper on the upper part of the wall. The desk in his room was very expensive-looking and even his chair was lavish, but as he noticed, the back of it was too tall for such a small bruce. That had its own irony to it which Poggle chuckled about in his mind, but as he sat across from the captain, he was brought to seriousness by Crossblades' serious expression.

"So what'd you call me here for, captain?"

"I summoned ye because I want t'have a chat with ya about this voyage." Poggle nodded and Crossblades, who was sitting on top of a pile of sea-faring books and atlases, sat forward, placing his elbows on the table and holing up his chin with his flippers. "Ye must have an awful love of adventure t'be goin' to a place like Lutari Island."

"Well, captain, it was my father's ambition. That's what he did and I suppose I just kinda fell into it."

"Aye, yer father, may he rest in peace. He was the wold's best adventurer. It was he who discovered Moltaria, ya know."

"Yeah, he told me once when I was a cub. But anyway, sir, I'm also a treasure hunter. It's how I pay for my way of life while being able to be out in the open world, traveling from place to place. I get really anxious when I have to be in one place too long."

"Ah, adrenaline flows in yer veins. I like yer kind, lad. Kids like you make Neopia a much more exciting place to live in. Most die young, but all the same, they lived their lives for their love of adventure. But yer the son of Victor which makes you special." Crossblades took a swig of his wine which was sitting to his left on the table and then sat back in his chair.

"Thanks, captain." A smile widened on Poggle's face and he sat back on his chair as well, putting his cheek in his hand and staring out the window. "Adventuring is the only thing I could ever bring myself to do, besides training to be at the top of the Battledome. It's like I live for it. Like you said!" he remarked brightly. "The wide open skies, the dark and dank shallows, the traveling on and off road—the entire world is my home, not just my hut back on Mystery Island."

"That's the spirit, lad! Now about the island..."

"Lutari Island..." Poggle pondered, "the last time I went there was back when I was a cub and dad and I didn't get past some of the creatures that live there now."

"And what exactly would those 'creatures' be?"

"Mutant pets," he said with a sorrowful face, looking back at Crossblades.

"Mutant pets?" Crossblades began to laugh. "Why, those are just myths, boy! When ye said ye've been to the island, I thought ye meant fer real!"

"Uh, no, I'm not joking. Those same myths told of the civilization that used to live there back before Neopia had even discovered the Lost Desert." The captain sat back in his chair again and put his cheek in his flipper as well. "The story said that the boats leaving were all so packed since it was such a thriving civilization, that there wasn't room enough for everyone. They had to leave some of them behind. Doctor Sloth cursed the island and the whirlpools were starting to pick up, so they couldn't send any boats back without losing anyone else. The pets left there mutated into beasts and I specifically remember a enormous hissy that dad and I had to escape—it's the thing that caused us not to be able to explore the island like we wanted. We barely escaped alive, but I'm determined to go back. There is some kind of secret there, I know it. Some treasures they left behind that could tell us more accurately about their civilization and I'm gonna find it." Poggle hit his fist down on the table, he was hunched forward and was grinning from ear to ear. After a moment, he realized he had such an expression and sat back and cleared his throat nervously. "Right."

"You said there'll be treasure there, did I hear ye right?"

"I think when they left, everything had happened so fast and they couldn't go back so in their hurry, yeah I'm thinking that they left treasure there. Gems, coins, knowledge, discoveries, ruins—anything a civilization could have, they probably left behind in their haste."

"Now, I'm gonna ask ye nicely first so ye have a chance t'protest."

"Yes, captain?"

"Yer gonna share the plunders with the rest of us, aren't ye?"

"Yeah, of course! I need some for myself to take care of my own living expenses and I would like to keep any books on the history of the place we find, but you guys can have whatever's left, which I think would be a lot."

"We don't want the books, lad, but I'll hold ye to yer promise!" the bruce laughed.

"No problem, just give me a little cut of the find and the rest is yours."

"Aye, lad, now off with ye. I got some plannin' t'do." Crossblades dismissed him and so Poggle got up and exited the room, shutting the door behind him. He followed the hall back up the the deck and as he resurfaced, he was nearly blinded by the brilliant blue skies. They were still cloudless and amazing. Everyone was up on deck now, even Leeanne who was sitting on the rails and admiring the view of the ocean and Enviouus who was chatting with a group of sailors standing just below the bow and relaxing, taking some time off and having what Poggle assumed was a stein of Krakuberry grog. Poggle, himself felt especially cheerful in all of the excitement of a new adventure. He went over to one of the sides and put his paws up on the railing. _Freedom_. It was such a sweet feeling. The wind ruffled through his fur again. It was a perfect day to be out at sea. With such a breeze, they would make great time.

The kougra got down and turned back to the crew. Seeing everyone work together and keep the ship on its course, Poggle felt at home. He decided he wanted to help out as well, in his high spirits and went over towards some of the pirates working around with the cannons and offered his assistance.

"Anything I can help you guys with?" he asked. He wasn't given a response. He asked again, "Hey, if you need any help, I'd like to offer." The sailors at the cannons slowly turned to look at him. Every one of them seemed to have a fowl look on their face that made Poggle suddenly feel very uncomfortable. He took a few steps back and lowered his tail down to the ground. "Oh, that's alright. You don't need my help," he said with a slight voice crack, still attempting to sound cheerful. "Well, if you need me, I'll be around." He turned away and headed in the direction of another group of sailors bringing up the sails since the wind had picked up and as he went, he felt the eyes of the previous pirates locked on his back and he felt and it sent a chill down his spine, but he tried not to think of it as he approached the next group. They all looked at him at the same time, pausing what they were doing. Poggle brought his tail and voice up to sound bright again. "Hey, you guys! Anything I can help with?" They all looked at each other and after a moment of silence, offered him a rope.

"Keep yer grip. A slip of the 'and could send us all flyin' forward," said a black-maned yurble gruffly. Poggle gripped the rope in his teeth and as a team, all of them pulled back with all of their strength equally being poured into the task. It was a lot harder than it looked. Poggle didn't expect a sail to be so heavy or weigh so much. He put all of his brawn into it, shifting his weight into his haunches and clamping his teeth down on the rope. They had almost got it raised, it was just a little farther when Poggle's teeth slipped, causing him to lose his balance with his already slick paw pads and went tumbling backwards, sending the rest of the crew mates hurtling forward and, the few that held on went up into the air, while the ones who let go skidded on their faces and ran head-first into the wooden wall behind the mast.

The orange kougra scrambled to his feet, immensely embarrassed. He completely screwed up and did exactly what they'd warned him not to do. Just about everyone on deck turned to view the commotion. The dangling sailors from the ropes were yelling out for and the ones against the wall were groaning in pain. Poggle tucked his tail between his legs and watched as some of the winged pets on board—unis, shoyrus, and korbats—flew up to rescue them. It took a moment for it to click in the kougra's head to go help them up after floundering his attempt at working with them.

He dashed over to the few and held out his paw.

"Aw, I'm so sorry!" he offered. The yurble took his paw and pulled himself up, dusting himself off.

"Yeah, yer sorry, ar'ight," he grumbled, giving the kougra a glare. The chomboy next to him got to his feet and stumbled around struggling to keep his balance. He also glared at Poggle and as he turned to him, he got right in his face as well.

"We told ya to keep yer grip right before ya took the rope. It was one job, cain't ya follow one direction?" he growled. Poggle stepped back.

"It slipped from my teeth," he stated firmly. "I've never been on an official pirate ship; it won't happen next time." One of the pirates that had been brought down from the rope was gripping his wrist after having kept such a tight grip on it. He gave Poggle a fierce look from the corner of his eye and in an angry voice said,

"You won't be helpin' us next time. Find somewhere else t'be an' leave us to our work," and all of those sailors headed down below deck, leaving Poggle standing out in the open with all of the others staring and whispering. He glanced around, feeling very much put on the spot and humiliated. Never in a million years after he defeated Sloth, did Poggle think that he would be treated in such a way. He knew pets were pets and he couldn't change everyone's opinion on him and not everyone was going to like him, but he felt that he got the cold shoulder on that end of the deal. Leeanne and Enviouus came rushing over, finally able to push past the crowd (with the help of Enviouus's stubby horns). The ixi stood with her legs spread and her horns pointed out toward everyone and Leeanne threw her arms around her kougra friend.

"Poggle! Are you alright?" she asked with hysterics in her tone. The kougra didn't move, he was shaken and locked in place. "Poggle!" she shouted again. He took a deep breath and stood up straight, shrugging her off of his shoulders, pulling out his tail from between his legs, and hovering it just above the ground. Enviouus turned to him.

"Yo, are you okay? That was harsh." He tried to not look so horrified about what just happened and kept silent, putting on a strong face. The girls looked at each other and just as Poggle was about to walk away and carry on with his own business, Gooblah the Garrl came tromping out from the VIP rooms and ordered everyone to get back to work with a blaringly commanding voice. No one moved and he shouted again,

"ARRG! GET BACK TO YER POSTS, ALL OF YA!" and the crowds finally broke up slowly and got back to work. "An' if I see anymore squabblin', I'll be reportin' ya to the captain! There'll be no quarrlin' on my ship!" Grumbles and groans were his response. "And you two," he pointed at Leeanne and Enviouus, "scatter."

"No way!" Enviouus refused, poking out her chest. "My buddy just got wailed on and I'm staying with him!" Leeanne nodded and put his paws on her hips. Gooblah shook his head. "I'm got stuff t'say t'him. Scramble, you two. He ain't in any trouble." The girls exchanged looks and slowly walked off, looking back over their shoulders as they went. "What happened?" he grunted in Poggle's direction.

"I'm sorry, I offered to help raise the sails because the wind was picking up and they looked like they were having some trouble and the rope slipped some through my teeth. It made me jump and I lost my footing. Then, I lost grip entirely and went backwards and...well, it kinda went downhill from there." Gooblah crossed his arms and stared down at the other.

"Let me tell ya somethin' about these _particular_ shipmates." Poggle looked up, feeling ill at ease. "They've been huntin' treasure fer as long as they became pirates. They ain't in it fer the adventure like you are. Blackbeard, Crossblades, McKyriggan, Percival, an' I 'ave been around fer a while an' we've seen their greed. You talked with the captain, right?"

"Yeah, about the treasure?"

"Aye, an' he asked ye t'split it, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let me tell ya that if ya 'aden't agreed, he woulda kept tryin' to get ya to, 'cause these shipmates are liable to do anythin'. We've all been with a few crews, but we keep getting' stuck with this one 'cause no one else will take 'em." Poggle swallowed hard and exhaled deeply. He understood the Poogle from before's actions now, though in the back of his mind he wondered how Enviouus didn't seem affected by any of them. In fact, she seemed rather entertained by them. "Just keep an eye out, lad." Gooblah patted his back, Poggle nodded, and then the garrl turned and left, heading back to the rooms.

_It was going to be a long trip, indeed_.

Suddenly, a thought stuck the kougra—Grouute had not been on response to the scene. The last he'd seen of the dragon was down in the mess. Even Grouute couldn't stand to be in one place for too long. Poggle decided to head down to search for him, he pulled open the hatch and climbed down the stairs into the galley.

No one was in the mess—it was completely devoid of life. Poggle stopped at the large boiling pot on the stove and cringed. _Almost_ completely devoid of life. Scanning each table, above and under, and checking all around the room, he concluded that there was absolutely nobody in there and proceeded on into the lodging. He approached it cautiously; after his incident, the last thing he wanted was to be seen by these specific shipmates snooping around their lodging. He stopped at the archway into the area and stood upright on his hind legs just outside of it with one ear pointed toward the inside.

"...and ye'll need some gear t'go along with it, big guy!"

"Ha ha, like peg-legs and eyepatches?" Poggle made a small gasp, that was definitely Grouute, no doubt about it.

"Aye! That's the spirit!"

"This shirt's really tattered."

"It's s'posed to be, we ain't no landlubbin' water lillies!"

"Aye, 'ere a patch, 'twas one of our old crewmate's 'fore 'e called us all devils an' abandoned us."

"Oh man, did he miss out. And this fits like a charm!"

"Try out this 'kercheif and ye'll be a pirate 'fore ya know it!"

"Great! … How do I look?"

"Aye! Yer lookin' shipshape, big guy! Ya need a real pirate name, though."

"Arr, how about—"

Poggle got down and stepped back a few paces. He didn't like what he was hearing. Grouute was chumming up to these guys and even putting on their gear. Especially after he was humiliated by them. The orange kougra shook his head. No, he was being absolutely ridiculous, he thought to himself. Grouute was one of his best friends and despite what Gooblah said, even Enviouus was warming up to them. Perhaps, he thought, he was just overreacting. It had been a while since anything embarrassing happened to him and perhaps the fact that he slipped up was simply going to his head. It was really only the first day of the voyage and it was too soon to be making inaccurate assumptions about pets when he'd just made a simple mistake earlier. Really, what was the harm in Enviouus and Grouute being chummy with these guys? Even if it was a problem, they were stuck on a ship for a while together and either they'd have to get over it and be friends, or be at each other's throats the whole trip and that should be avoided at all costs.

He turned to walk away and headed back up to the main deck. No sooner then the moment he resurfaced was he met with a slap in the face by what felt like someone's tail. He shook it off and looked up to see what had hit him. Sure enough, it was the tail of one of the zafara mates who'd been walking by, carrying a crate.

"'ey," he snapped, "watch it, buster." Poggle gave him a cutting look in response and hopped back up onto the deck. Rude, but then again, most pirate neopians were. It was part of the trade. The tired kougra sat down in his spot just in front of the hatch and yawned. It was only midday and his lack of adequate sleep was catching up to him. Leeanne walked over to him with a smile on her face, until she reached him.

"You okay, Pogs?" she asked, holding his jaw in her hands.

"I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, that's all," he answered, keeping his eyes off her and off somewhere on the deck.

"Those goons shouldn't have said all those mean things to you."

"Eh, they're pirates, they're supposed to be mean—it's in the brush." The katcheek took her hands off of him and held them together in front of herself. "Besides, it was my fault anyway, they told me not to slip and I slipped. I should've apologized, but it didn't come to mind." He got up and moved over to the side of the hatch, so he wouldn't block it and Leeanne followed him, sitting down beside him and leaning on his shoulder.

"Maybe, but if you ask me, I don't feel right around these guys."

"You neither?"

"Nah, they're brute and they smell bad." Poggle had to crack a smile at that one and Leeanne looked up at him and began laughing to which he soon followed.

"Yeah," he said, putting an arm around her shoulder as well. "No kidding."

They sat there and chatted a little bit and looked around the ship and a few miutes later, the lunch bell rang. Everyone around them dropped what they were doing and rushed down to the mess, passing by the two and paying them no mind. They didn't move, really they weren't interested. As much as Poggle figured it would be a good idea to get on their good sides, he was already exhausted for the day, or for now at least, and Leeanne was just plain disinterested in spending time with the rest of them, so they remained there and after a moment, a voice came from behind.

"Hey, are you two girlfriends gonna come eat?" Enviouus was walking towards them and she stopped just in front of the hatch.

"Girlfriends?" Poggle sneered.

"You act like it," the green ixi snickered.

"Aha, have you seen the way you and Grouute flirt around each other."

"If by flirt, you mean brutally despise."

"Hey, don't call out our friendship anomalies if you're not gonna face yours," Poggle laughed. Enviouus repeated him in a mocking tone, sticking out her tongue at him. The three of them laughed and Leeanne took Poggle's arm off from around her.

"You go ahead," she said, "Maybe I'll go down after everyone'd done."

"Yeah, me too."

"Suit yourselves." The ixi left them and headed down to the mess to join the others. Poggle sat back, propping himself up with his arms, and stretched out his hind legs. Leeanne laid back and gazed up at the cloudless sky.

"I really think we just got off on the wrong paw," the kougra said. "I'm gonna try apologizing to those guys later; we can all be friends."

"Same old Poggle—always trying to make friends with everyone. You're such a good guy." Poggle looked down at her and smiled.

"Thanks, Leeanne. I'm just trying to do my best. Adventuring means making friends with people that help you get to your goal. It's the right thing to do...isn't it?"

"Of course it is! And no one does it better than you." He smiled again and nodded, looking up at the sky with her. He eventually laid back with an arm behind his head and one over his chest. They laid side-by-side and admired the bright blue yonder together as only friends should. The breeze whisked around them, carrying the sails along and blowing their fur gently. The day sure was beautiful.


End file.
